Fulani Empire

The Fulani Empire, also called the Sokoto Empire or Sokoto Caliphate, was one of the most powerful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State" title="State - states in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa" title="Sub-Saharan Africa - sub-Saharan Africa in the years prior to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe - European http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization" title="Colonization - colonization .

Background

The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_people" title="Fula people - Fulani were traditionally a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadic" title="Nomadic - nomadic , pastoral community, herding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle" title="Cattle - cattle , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat" title="Goat - goats and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep" title="Sheep - sheep . They populated the grasslands between the towns throughout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa" title="West Africa - West Africa . With increasing trade, a good number of Fulani also began to settle in towns, forming a distinct minority.

The Fulani were mostly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" title="Islam - Muslims ,
as were the rulers of most of the states in the region. The Islam of
the rulers of these states was quite fragile, however, and they quickly
reverted to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism" title="Nationalism - nationalistic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animist" title="Animist - animist
religions when threatened. Over the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries the Fulani began to launch scattered uprisings against rulers
who were oppressing them. These established a number of small, and
usually briefly lived, emirates in the west of the Sahel.

The most powerful states in the region were the city-states of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausaland" title="Hausaland - Hausaland . They had large Fulani populations, who were generally considered second class citizens. Over the centuries, however, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_people" title="Hausa people - Hausa and Fulani had become quite integrated. One of the more marginal Hausa states was that of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobir" title="Gobir - Gobir . Poor and on the periphery of Hausaland, it was ruled by a remnant of the defunct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao" title="Gao - Gao empire. This rule was noted for its despotism towards both the Fulani and the Hausa peasants.

One of the most revered religious scholars of the region, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usman_dan_Fodio" title="Usman dan Fodio - Usman dan Fodio , an urbanized Fulani, lived in Gobir. With the initial approval of http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bawa&action=edit" class="new" title="Bawa - Bawa , the ruler of Gobir, he was allowed to found a religious community at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degel" title="Degel - Degel . In exchange, dan Fodio blessed the monarchy and educated Bawa's nephew and heir http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunfa" title="Yunfa - Yunfa . When Yunfa became ruler, however, he decided to revoke the autonomy of dan Fodio's community and have dan Fodio assassinated.

Degel was defended, but unable to stand up to the army of Yunfa -
dan Fodio and his followers retreated from Gobir. From exile dan Fodio
called for a jihad against oppressors throughout the region that became
the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulani_War" title="Fulani War - Fulani War .
Joined by large numbers of Fulani and also many Hausa, this sparked a
general uprising in Hausaland and most of the region's governments
quickly fell. Dan Fodio was proclaimed as ruler of the new empire.

Growth of the empire

From this base in Hausaland the Fulani rapidly spread throughout the
region. The open plains to the west were annexed, to the south the
Fulani captured the northern section of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people" title="Yoruba people - Yorubaland . They were blocked in the east by the kingdom of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bornu_Empire" title="Bornu Empire - Kanem-Bornu in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1810" title="1810 - 1810 .
Since Fulani strength was centered on powerful cavalry they could not
expand very far southwards, however, as the horses were ineffective in
the forests of the region and could not withstand the diseases of those
latitudes. It became the largest state in Africa stretching from what
is today http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso" title="Burkina Faso - Burkina Faso to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon" title="Cameroon - Cameroon .

The new empire was organized into a series of emirates that were
loosely controlled by dan Fodio. Under him the empire was split into
two divisions, one ruled by his brother, the other by his son. In http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1815" title="1815 - 1815 dan Fodio retired from the Sultanate and the empire passed to his son http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammed_Bello" title="Muhammed Bello - Muhammed Bello . He built up the new capital at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokoto" title="Sokoto - Sokoto , turning it into a major centre. The empire in the nineteenth century is often referred to as the Sokoto Caliphate. Dan Fodio's brother http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abdullahi&action=edit" class="new" title="Abdullahi - Abdullahi continued to rule in the west, and this position, known as the emirate of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwandu" title="Gwandu - Gwandu , was passed to his heirs but remained subordinated to Sokoto.

In addition to its military prowess, the empire became known for its
scholarship. Bello, Abdullahmi, and dan Fodio were all considered great
scholars and despite ruling such a vast state, all three continued to
produce a sizable output of poetry, and texts on religion, politics,
and history. While scholarship continued in the empire after Bello's
death it became divorced from political life. Over time, the empire
also became far more Hausan in character with the Hausa language
becoming the official language.

The empire continued to be an economic success. Hausaland, now
unified, reached a level of unprecedented prosperity and the region
remained safe from raids by Saharan nomads.

While the Sultan of Sokoto was paramount the Emirs controlling the other cities, especially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kano" title="Kano - Kano , steadily increased in power during the nineteenth century. In http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1893" title="1893 - 1893 a crisis of the succession saw the rulers of Kano rise to preeminence.

Decline and European colonization

The empire began to collapse under pressure from European
colonialism that destroyed traditional trading patterns and armed
neighbouring states. In http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903" title="1903 - 1903 both Sokoto and Kano were sacked and the Empire collapsed, being divided between the French and British.

The colonizers preserved the Fulani emirate system as the local rulers were given considerable autonomy by the British. The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_of_Sokoto" title="Sultan of Sokoto - Sultan of Sokoto remains to this day the main religious leader of Nigerian Muslims, and the position is still held by descendents of dan Fodio.

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sultans_of_Sokoto" title="List of Sultans of Sokoto - List of Sultans of Sokoto

Training

Dan Fodio was well-educated in classical Islamic science, philosophy
and theology and became a revered religious thinker. His teacher, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jibril_ibn_%27Umar&action=edit" class="new" title="Jibril ibn 'Umar - Jibril ibn 'Umar
argued that it was the duty and within the power of religious movements
to establish the ideal society free from oppression and vice. His
teacher was a North African Muslim alim who gave his apprentice a
broader perspective of the Muslim reformist ideas in other parts of the
Muslim world. Dan Fodio used his influence to secure approval to create
a religious community in his hometown of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degel" title="Degel - Degel that would, dan Fodio hoped, be a model town.

Spreading Islam

However, in 1802, the ruler of Gobir and one of dan Fodio's
students, Yunfa turned against him, revoking Degel's autonomy and
attempting to assassinate dan Fodio. Dan Fodio and his followers fled
into the western grasslands of Gudu where they turned for help to the
local Fulani nomads. When he moved to Gudu he was proclaimed
al-mu’minin (“commander of the faithful”) In his book Tanbih al-ikhwan
’ala ahwal al-Sudan (“Concerning the Government of Our Country and
Neighboring Countries in the Sudan”) Usman writes: “The government of a
country is the government of its king without question. If the king is
a Muslim, his land is Muslim; if he is an Unbeliever, his land is a
land of Unbelievers. In these circumstances it is obligatory for anyone
to leave it for another country”. [1]. In fact, Usman did
exactly this when he left Gobir in 1802. After that Yunfa turned for
aid to the other leaders of the Hausa states, warning them that dan
Fodio could trigger a widespread Jihad. [4]. Eventually, he
did and it was the first major Jihad for the series of Jihads which
were surging during the 18th and 19th century across Sudan and the
neighboring states. It was called the Sokoto Jihad and it took place in
Hausaland.

Dan Fodio was proclaimed Amir al-Muminin or Leader of the Faithful.[5]
This, in effect made him political as well as religious leader, giving
him the authority to declare and pursue a Jihad, raising an army and
becoming its commander. A widespread uprising began in Hausaland. This
uprising was largely composed of the Fulani, who held a powerful
military advantage with their cavalry. It was also widely supported by
the Hausa peasantry who felt over-taxed and oppressed by their rulers.
After only a few short years of the Fulani War, dan Fodio found himself
in command of the largest state in Africa, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulani_Empire" title="Fulani Empire - Fulani Empire .
His son Muhammed Bello and his brother Abdullahi were carrying out the
Jihad and were taking care of the administration. Dan Fodio worked to
establish an efficient government, one grounded in Islamic law. After
1811, Usman retired and continued writing about the righteous conduct
of the Muslim belief. After his death in 1817 his son, Muhammed Bello,
succeeded his as amir al-mu’minin or Sultan of Sokoto and became the
ruler of the SOkoto Caliphate which was the biggest state south of the
Sahara at that time. Usman’s brother Abdullahi was given the title emir
of Gwandu and he was placed in charge of the Western Emirates, Nupe and
Ilorin. Thus, all Hausa states, parts of Nupe, Ilorin and Fulani
outposts in Bauchi and Adamawa were all ruled by a single
politico-religious system. From the time of Usman dan Fodio there were
twelve caliphs, until the Birtish conquest at the beginning of the
twentieth century. Dan Fodio's uprising inspired a number of later West
African jihads, including those of Massina Empire founder Seku Amadu,
Toucouleur Empire founder El Hadj Umar Tall (who married one of dan
Fodio's granddaughters), Wassoulou Empire founder Samori Ture, and
Adamawa Emirate founder Modibo Adama.

The Sokoto Jihad

The Sokoto Jihad is one of the major jihads which swept across the
region of Sudan which resulted in the emergence of a state (the Fulani
Empire). Great number of Fulani led by Usman dan Fodio, were unhappy
that the rulers of the Hausa states were mingling the Islam with
aspects of the traditional regional religion. After 20 years of
writing, teaching and preaching, he finally withdrew his people to Gudu
in 1802 and after 2 years, in 1804, he rose up and overthrew the unjust
rulers. In Islam Outside the Arab World, David Westerlung writes: “The
jihad resulted in a federal theocratic state, with extensive autonomy
for emirates, recognizing the spiritual authority of the caliph or the
sultan of Sokoto.”[3] That means that Usman achieved his
goal to raise the Muslim law above the power of the government which is
one of his main ideas in his written works. In Tanbih al-ikhwan ’ala
ahwal al-Sudan he writes: “As for the sultans, they are undoubtedly
unbelievers, even though they may profess the religion of Islam,
because they practice polytheistic rituals and turn people away from
the path of God and raise the flag of worldly kingdom above the banner
of Islam. All this is unbelief according to the consensus of opinions.”[1]

Usman points out in his books many of the flaws and demerits of the
African non-Muslim or Nominal Muslim rulers. Some of these are
corruption on various levels of the administration along with absurdity
and injustice regarding ordinary people’s rights. Usman is strongly
criticizing the heavy taxation and obstruction created in the business
and trade of the Hausa states by the law system. One can assume he was
fighting for common equality according to the Muslim law which was
inexistent before 1804.

It is astonishing how the call for Jihad from Gudu mnaged to spread
throughout the whole county. The communication was carried along trade
routes and rivers draining to the Niger-Benue valley, as well as the
delta and the lagoons. The call for Jihad did not only reach other
Hausa states such as Kano, Katsina and Zaria but also Borno, Gombe,
Adamawa, Nupe and Ilorin. These were all places with major or minor
groups of Fulani alims.

Nana Asma’u

One of the most prominent members of the caliphate was Shehu Usman
dan Fodio’s daughter. She was very devoted to the education of the
Muslim women and she was a writer herself like most of the rest of her
family. She witnessed many of the Jihad wars and wrote about her
experiences in the war in her books.Many of her written works are
related to Islamic education; for much of her adult life she was
responsible for educating women in their religion, Islam. She created a
cadre of women teachers who travelled throughout the Caliphate
educating women the students' own homes. Nana Asma’u was very well
educated in the classics of the Arab world, and well versed in four
languages (Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa and Tamachek) which gave her a
widespread reputation of a scholar and the opportunity to communicate
with the whole sub-Saharan African Muslim World. David Westerlund
wrote: “She continued to be a source of inspiration to the present
day.” [3]

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nigeria" title="History of Nigeria - History of Nigeria

-------------Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.

Posted By: lovesakeenah
Date Posted: 26 August 2007 at 2:32pm

As-salaam alaykum

Jazakallahu for a job well done.Am truly glad that someone found it necessary to write something from my Home country.It seems to me that Islam is mostly looked at from the Asian Continent than from Africa.We equally have Scholars&Religious Leaders in my Country as a part of West Africa than most people know,and Islam is thriving well there.Usman Dan Fodio was a very important personality.You can't talk about Islam in Nigeria without mentioning his name.May Allah forgive him&rest his soul.Last year during ramadan,we lost the Sultan of Sokoto&it was a heavy loss for all Muslims.Sokoto is the Cradle of Islam in Nigeria and the Seat of Islamic Council.The North have the largest population of Muslims up till date than any other part of the country.For them,it's 'natural' to be Muslims.Even their mode of dressing have been Islamized.

-------------"I have conviction that Allah has power over everything.Verily!Allah's knowledge includes and encompasses everything".

Posted By: UmmTaaha
Date Posted: 10 October 2007 at 9:46pm

I did not see your post before, am not a frequent member. There was an event of SunniPath about NanaAsmaú, very motivating and informative. I came to know there are so many sisters in US who are carrying out the tradition of teachings ( http://www.yantaru.org/ - Yan Taru ) first started by Nana Asmaú, masha allah.

It is not that people do not know about Africa and islam there, alhamdulillah. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf , who runs his institute in california has spent years in Mauritania, and has lots to talk about islamic culture and tradition in Africa ... hearing from scholars and prominent figures one gets a good picture.

-------------Adab with Allah is the proper fruit of obedience - Habib Ali Jifri